Visitation will be at the Runge Mortuary on Friday evening, October 11 from 4-8 p.m. with a prayer service at 7:30 p.m. The funeral will be held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church Davenport at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 12, 2024. Burial will be with his wife in Memorial Park Cemetery in Davenport.
Gary was one of the most caring, kind, giving, and sweet people you would ever meet. He was thoughtful, loved to bowl, had an affinity for his sweet rescue dogs, and was a huge baseball and football fan.
Gary Thomas Krayenhagen was born to John William Krayenhagen and Joan Evelyn Schaeffer on July 27, 1955. Gary’s mother, Joan, died in 1962 when he was 7 years old. His Dad remarried and gave him a step-mother, Genevieve Roth Krayenhagen.
Gary graduated from St. Alphonsus grade school and from West High School in 1974. After attending Palmer Junior College, he graduated with a degree in Mortuary Science and Funeral Service from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. He followed his father in a career as a mortician, working first at the Schroeder Mortuary in Silvis, Illinois and then for most of his career at the Runge Mortuary in Davenport, Iowa.
He was a long-time member of St. Anthony Parish in downtown Davenport, where he was an usher and had many friends, especially among those who sat in the back pews for services. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus. You could find Gary taking his Aunts Tess and Alice shopping in Clinton, or on longer trips they dreamed up. He was a patient man.
Gary seemed to be a confirmed bachelor, but he hadn’t counted on the determined love of Michele Seymour Bultinck. They married in 2014 and were totally happy in each other’s company until her untimely death in 2016.
Gary had no children of his own, but had devoted “sons of the heart.” Through Shelly he became step-father to Bryan Bultinck (Rebecca) and a beloved grandfather to Bryan’s children. His nephew, Christopher Frank, was a constant loving presence in his home and in his life. Gary was part of the family of his sister, Mary Ann Frank, her husband, John, and her children Joan (James) Kranovich, Christopher, and Joseph (Maritza Szumilas) Frank.
Gary is survived by his son Bryan (Rebecca) Bultinck and 5 grandchildren; siblings Marcia (Dick) Jensen, Mary Ann Frank, Dr. Kenneth (Rita Vargas) Krayenhagen, John R. (Sherri Reding) Krayenhagen, Elizabeth (Scott) Heskett, and Christine (Dr. Christian) Linz and his aunt, Tish Roth. He is also survived by 16 nieces and nephews and 18 great-nieces and nephews. Six cousins and long-time friends at the Runge Mortuary are also survivors.
His wife, Shelly Krayenhagen, his brother-in-law, John Frank, his three parents, his aunts, including Dorothy Young (Joel) of Rock Island, his uncles, and several of his beloved pets preceded him in death.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Anthony’s for their food outreach to the homeless and hungry, or to the Humane Society of Scott County.
